A Daily Dose of Insight and Common Sense

Anyone who has ever been around an infant or toddler for more than a few hours knows that a diaper change is only a temporary fix. If the underlying problem isn’t addressed things just continue to go to crap. The liberal viewpoint on the current economic crisis is simply to change a lot of diapers, and diapers are too expensive to keep changing for the years to come. The Democrat led Congress has spent way too much on diapers in the past couple of years and continues to purchase them in bulk. The corporate bailouts will cost America billions if not trillions of dollars. It’s time to start dealing with the real issues and begin potting training. Yes, it will be difficult, frustrating, and a little messy, but in the end… problem solved. The present crap needs taken care of, and a bath given if necessary, but corporations that aren’t allowed to fail cause a rift in the natural order of capitalism. Washington needs to quit wiping the butt of big business. If they are too big to fail, they are too big to fail without our help. Ignoring the situation, rewarding bad behavior, and going through decades of diaper changing will only multiply the national debt and leave the present problems for future generations. What a mess.

(Written Sept. 11, 2008)

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(TARP) When the Secretary of the Treasury drew up his proposal to give himself 700 billion dollars of our money to spend on Wall St. it was 3 pages long. When the House brought the bill to a vote days later it was 110 pages. When the Senate voted and passed its Bailout Bill it had inflated to 451 pages. The Bill had become the temperature to ignite the economic meltdown not to extinguish it. Congress couldn’t put aside selfish greed for 3 days to simply do what they were hired for. If an employee was stealing office supplies or embezzling company funds , which is no different from earmark spending, except it’s legal (only because Congress makes the laws) they would be fired and most likely prosecuted. And that’s what congress members are: our employees. We hired them to speak on our behalf, and they need to be held accountable for insubordination if nothing else.

The legislative process needs to change. 451 pages in 2 days! I bet with everything going on, not a single congress member read through it, let alone had an hour to research anything in it. I’m an avid reader, but 451 pages full of legal jargon would likely put me in a coma. Bills pass all the time and earmarks aren’t even discovered until months later. The process of bribery and buying votes needs to stop now. No more happy meal toys for congress. They shouldn’t be buying the cereal for the toy in the bottom of the box. I’m tired of hearing that’s just how the process works. I think a bill should be passed that limits the items in a bill to the ONE topic or concern in the reference line. No more other items or miscellaneous allowed. If the item has a purpose it should be in its own bill. I’d like to limit the number of pages possible for a single piece of legislation. A high school or even college graduate should be able to read it, understand it, and be able voice their opinion to their representative.

(Written Oct. 9, 2008)

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Everyone has heard the Chinese proverb – Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. So it’s ironic seeing how China has diverted away from the conventional wisdom of its past, which preaches self-reliance, to its present state of communism. The socialistic views of the far left are a giant leap in that direction. The government wants to give away free fish. But a meal only sustains for a few hours, the people will continue to go hungry unless they learn the importance of throwing their own line in the water.

The liberal perspective is to have hard-working dedicated fishermen give the government half of their catch, to let a third of that spoil, and redistribute what’s left to those they see worthy of a free meal. Charity should be a priority of the church (all religions), non-profit organizations, and individuals. That’s why the government sees fit to exempt these groups from taxes and lets the individual write-off contributions.

I’m not saying the government should drop Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Unemployment, Disability, and Social Security altogether, but they become a major contribution to the problem when people expect and rely on them. They should be a last resort not the first line of defense. Handouts become a hindrance when they reward entitlement, dependence, and complacency. Why do some people feel that the government owes them something for simply being privileged to live here? What happened to giving more than you take? Wouldn’t that philosophy change the world if it really caught on? America was founded for independence, survived from self-reliance, and thrived on innovation. Why are the principles and ideals that led the country for over 200 years now being rejected?

We survived the Great Depression, made huge strides against prejudice, and united as a country during times of war. America is still the greatest country in the world, but we have strayed far away from the greatest generation. The programs and government assistance needed for America to survive the worst of times (nothing like we spoiled ones are seeing today) aren’t what is needed to sustain America. Where was the exit strategy on big government spending? Time limits and education (of the past and for the future) are more necessary here than additional government bureaucracies. We are currently being strangled by the safety nets.

The dedicated fishermen – Americans who work hard, support the economy and the government, in order to support themselves and leave a piece to future generations, are now being called mutineers.

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I miss the good old days. It seems odd saying that when I haven’t even hit 30 yet, but I remember a time much different from today.

I walked alone the 2 miles home from school in high school. I rode my bike or rollerbladed all over town. Even the few R rated movies I wasn’t old enough to attend but did anyway weren’t as bad as most of the PG13 ones now. The worst shows on TV according to my parents were Married with Children, The Simpsons and videos on MTV (and we had cable). Now even the prime time shows on national networks are full of foul language and show more skin than the paid movie channels used to. It was safe to watch whatever was on TV while getting ready for school in the morning or tune the radio to any station while doing our homework. Now we have to police the TV, radio, and the internet. Teachers with tenure used to be the worst influence then. I don’t want to know what is being said and taught in our classrooms today.

The media and entertainment industries play to the worst of mankind. They continue to promote biased trash as newsworthy. Every outlet possible is cluttered with lust, drugs, hate, greed, and prejudice. When did someone’s right to free speech become more important than another’s right not have profanities shouted at them? Someone’s right to an abortion more important than another’s right not to finance it? Someone’s right to smoke, over someone’s right not too? Shouldn’t the right to swing your fist stop at someone else’s face?

Today it’s hard to walk that fine line between guarding your children and being isolationists where they are extremely sheltered. I’m not for homeschooling or living like the Amish, but today’s culture has become predatory. If they want to keep religion out of schools and the rest of the public sector then they need to keep the counter-culture out too!

If It Takes a Village, I’m moving.

(Written Oct. 9, 2008)

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Scientists have said that the average person uses only ten percent of their brain, and geniuses just eleven. From my experience with everyday people, I believe that the average has dropped to about seven.

What happened to common sense? It doesn’t mean the same thing anymore. It’s like how the word bad can mean good, republican mean democrat, and democrat mean socialist. What do we now call common sense when what we really mean isn’t common at all anymore? Today’s literal common sense doesn’t get your order right at the drive-thru, doesn’t know how to give change for actual cash money, and carelessly rear ends you when told to pull forward to the next window. Not to bash the fast food industry or its workers, I reluctantly eat there once or twice a week and am married to a past employee, but to cite it as an example. I think the underlying problems there illustrate the bigger picture. It shows the lack of pride in workmanship, the results of our failing public school system, and self-absorption instead of self-reliance. They all contribute to the extinction of Thomas Paine’s meaning of the phrase.

I think technology is partly to blame as well. Who needs to think at all when we have computers, cell phone apps, and the media feeding us our opinions? Mental debate, deduction, and logic aren’t needed to graduate, get a job, or enter the voting booth. We are told what to believe, instead of given the facts from both sides of an issue, and letting us put two and two together for ourselves. Our minds become complacent and lethargic when they aren’t exercised on a regular basis; I know from experience. I’m not saying delete the address book in your iPhone and try to memorize all the numbers, but make a conscious effort to keep training your mind. Most people aren’t stupid, just mentally lazy. Getting your mind of its mental couch and turning off the TV is a good start. Then try thinking outside the box, build something, teach yourself something new, or work toward solving problems that can’t be fixed with a calculator.

So when someone tells you to use common sense what they really mean is – go beyond the average thought and use your ten percent.

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About

Although a few entries may be a little hard for some to swallow, my hope is to show readers a fresh perspective, by linking the issues and problems of today with analogies from everyday life.

I had taken a break from daily writing to realign my offline priorities. Gotta keep it all in perspective. I hope to make almost daily posts again and keep you clicking back to see newer posts as they are written. I know time is a rare and valuable asset, thanks for spending some of yours here.